Licence appeal wins costs

A forecourt retailer has won an extension to his alcohol licence and, unusually, a substantial contribution to his costs from the council, after he appealed against its refusal.

Solicitors Winckworth Sherwood represented Mohan Samy, owner of Tudor Lodge Service Station, Middlesbrough, in an appeal against a decision by Middlesbrough Council to refuse to vary his premises licence. The existing licence restricted alcohol sales to midnight, and he was seeking permission to allow for the sale of alcohol 24 hours day.

Local police objected to the application and produced an incident report to support their case.

The appeal was considered by a District Judge who encouraged the parties to try to reach an agreement. A consent order was settled, the result of which was the grant of the 24-hour variation and a significant contribution to Mohan’s costs.

Robert Botkai, a partner at Winckworth Sherwood, said: “This was an excellent result for Mohan who consistently argued that the incidents relied on by the police and the council had nothing to do with the premises and should not be relevant to the application.

“Twenty-four hour applications can attract opposition from the authorities and local residents. Each case must be looked at carefully on their individual merits. The lesson here is that evidence relied on by a council in making its decision must be capable of being carefully scrutinised.”